By Varun Noronha
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – An unhoused San Francisco man charged with nonviolent crimes was placed in custody rather than granted pretrial release Friday here in San Francisco County Superior Court.
The accused is being charged with felony burglary, a misdemeanor for the possession of burglary tools, and another misdemeanor for receiving stolen property.
A preliminary hearing determined his case would proceed to trial.
Assistant District Attorney Megan Wang argued there was a significant risk the accused would commit another crime if released before trial. Judge Michael Rhoads agreed the accused should be monitored until his trial.
Deputy Public Defender Eden Schwartz advocated against using an ankle monitor, asserting that finding a place to charge an ankle monitor is an onerous burden for an unhoused person. She asked the court to release her client “on the least restrictive means.”
Upon reviewing the accused man’s record, Judge Rhoads noted his failure to comply with less restrictive pretrial release programs in the past. The accused had not attended a majority of meetings with his case manager from the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project, the judge said.
DPD Schwartz stated her client had a learning disability which, in addition to his unhoused status, made it difficult to meet all pretrial program expectations.
Judge Rhoads contended the accused man’s challenges with less restrictive pretrial services indicated those services were not suited to his needs.
The judge ordered the accused to be detained and placed in the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project’s In-Custody Referral Program, which aims to assess which pretrial services would most benefit a prospective client. After such an assessment, the accused may be granted release with certain conditions or denied release until trial.
